Pretty good ear canal phones
The headphones come with a great case and a selection of three silicon earpieces. The earphones must really be shoved deep into your ears My ear canals are large so that it is hard to get a tight seal unless those earpieces are shoved deep. This makes it a little less comfortable. I found that I could achieve a deeper insertion and better seal if my mouth was open when I inserted the earpieces.
The sound appears to be quite good and accurate. I do not think that the bass is enhanced or exaggerated at all. These appear to be Eymotic's top of the line for a commercially popular product. Amazon has them significantly discounted so that they are very competatively priced. In fact, they are a pretty good deal right now.
The wiring appears stout and is likely to last with proper care. I would say that given the choice, I might pony up a little extra cash and get the Ultra Ear or Shures. I think that you get a slightly warmer sound from either of those ear canal phones and the fit into the ear is not so aggressive.
I do not regret the purchase of the Etymotic ear canal phones, but I think some others are more comfortable. The model that I am referring to is the ER-4P which is meant for mp3 devices. I think it sounded pretty good without a headphone amplifier. However, when I hooked it up to a headphone amplifer, the bass came in quite strong and I found it a better all around listening experience.
